Columbus Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is good for the kids as well as for the adults. There is a huge children area the day I went. I got the Bahamma Mamma sausage from Schmidt’s and it had good flavor and mildy spicy. It was also very very thick and very very filling. A bit too dense for me, but it was good flavor! The stone throwing show was good and there were very many stand selling some cool stuff. LOTS OF SAMPLES ALL OVER THE PLACE TOO! :) It wasn’t too crowded when I went, and it’s not a huge area.

Food & beer is way overpriced. I was told that it is okay because admission is free. Parking is $ 10 that is too much also.
$ 4 for potato salad & $ 7 for a cream puff. Craft beer is also $ 7. But it is all about hanging out and getting drunk while listening to music.

This is my favorite festival in Columbus. It’s not too crowded. The attendees and staff are jovial. Great beer selection, amazing food, and great music! I looked online for other Midwestern Oktoberfests to attend, but none of them looked nearly as fun as this one. The weather has been great each time I’ve attended.
There isn’t a whole lot to do besides drink, eat, dance, and people watch, but that’s plenty of fun for me. If you’re not enjoying yourself at Oktoberfest then it’s probably some fluke or just you. From their facebook page, «Don’t be a Sauer Kraut. Be a happy German. Holy Schmidt, look at those cream puffs!»
Prost und guten appetite!

Severely disappointed. Food I had wasn’t very good and didn’t taste «authentic.» Nothing to do. I was hoping for something a little more festive. It was basically just a small flee market type thing with «german» food and some pretty corny and offensive shows. Won’t be coming back.

One word: FUN. Havent been to the Oktoberfest here in Columbus for several years. Plenty of food, entertainment and shopping at the festival this year. I was a little bummed that there werent too many vendors there that offered german items. Yes there were the pins and hats, but was hoping to see more german items, not just your beauty and dips vendors. Great atmosphere and perfect weather for the Oktoberfest. Food was a little pricey, but you will have that.

So I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never really had much of an investment in any city’s Oktoberfest, but I still go because (1) I dig festivals in general and (2) my husband REALLY love Oktoberfest. This was my first visit to the one in Columbus, and I’d have to say that it really was a fun afternoon. All of the expected sorts of festival things were there including good food, plenty of beer, interesting vendors, and lots of music. It also wasn’t ridiculously congested like some other festivals I’ve been to in the past. I don’t have any children, but I thought it was really nice that they had so much kid-​oriented stuff as well.

I’ll admit I was skeptical the first year it was moved, but now this festival has become what it should be. It is reminiscent of many small Village festivals in Germany. The volunteers are so friendly and only have bigger plans for next year.
The food is great! Thumbs up to Mozart’s schnitzel and bratwurst. And hofbrau bier!
For the little ones, the kinderplatz is amazing. This year a bounce house, bounce slide, bounce obstacle. Pig races (we sadly kept missing). Great arts and crafts. And a puppet show, too! The dinner time dance floor in one of the tents had lots of kids running and dancing and parents trying to keep up.
Free entrance (nice). Yes, parking is $ 8. Food is more expensive, but it’s a festival. It’s more quality than your avg event. As they say, living ain’t cheap.

I have to say that I am among the lederhosen now. The lines are long for everything; Food, Beer, sausage and cold pretzels. Doesn’t seem like they were prepared. The venue is excellent, clean and comfortable, but the lines are ridiculous and the prices are steep. We came for the 4 mile race and with that came complimentary coupons for a sausage, beer and cream puff; without the freebie and good friends our experience would have been

I was planning to attend Columbus Oktoberfest 2012 alone when I ran into my friend from China at the OSU Oval. «Where ya headed?» I asked her. «To the RPAC,» she replied. «So you’re exercising?» I asked. «No, to eat,» she answered. But I felt it necessary to share with my friend the vision of a bratwursts’ blitzkrieg on my thoughts. «Aren’t you kind of sick of campus food right now? But hey, if you’re *that* hungry – » «Wait, where you’re should be more interesting. Can I come with you?» And off to Oktoberfest we went!
I understand that Columbus Oktoberfest may have been tons better when German Village hosted it, but the experience at the Ohio State Fairgrounds sufficed. I couldn’t figure out how to get to the fairgrounds via COTA, so my friend and I took a cab there, and our pretty careless driver almost forced us into the dead center of oncoming traffic. :-/​But I digress.
So in regard to Oktoberfest itself: I wasn’t particularly pleased with the fact that a running event was held concurrently during what I’d thought were the prime hours of the festival, and that my friend and I were yelled at every so often from out of nowhere to get out of the runners’ way. Despite that, however, food, entertainment, and souvenirs were plentiful, although also non-​German (at least, *explicitly* German) organizations from in and around the Columbus area showed up to show off. I mean, enough of central Ohio traces itself back to a German lineage, and so naturally plenty of local establishments could represent themselves – perhaps, most notably, Schmidt’s Sausage Haus. Of *course* my friend and I tried brats and Schmidt’s signature gigantic cream puffs (LIEBE! … I think that’s the word for «love,» right?).
My friend experienced multiple issues with an ATM on the premises, but we eventually paid to enjoy some wine. I also had a beer or two. Or three. (I think it was two.) And I got one of those cool German hats with a feather tucked into its side for only around $ 10!
Having left Columbus Oktoberfest after maybe two hours, my friend and I had a little trouble with getting a cab to pick us up. In any case, the food was good, but my experience was little EPCOT-​y. It was splendid enough, though, to save my friend and me from another evening stuck in the University District, and it gave my friend from the Far East a little more insight into the Old World of the West. :-)

It’s gets better every year folks!
I do love this festival — it’s a great mix of young, old, families, hipsters, yp’s — you name it! It’s my favorite autumn festival.
Well spread out, you can escape the crowds easily and peruse the lovely children’s area or wander among the vendors. True, many of the vendors are not focused on German goods, though I felt there were far more here this time around that had more fun stuff (hand knitted scarves, pottery, iron work, jewelry and more) than services or flea market type stuff. I picked up some nice charms for my pandora bracelet.
It’s true, food and beer is ridiculously expensive — the food more so than the beer. $ 6 for 16 oz import isn’t too bad at a festival (go to a sporting event and it’s $ 8 or $ 9). I just spring for the litre and take my time sipping it. The souvenir mug is plastic, but I guess it has to be when people are drinking heavily.
We skipped food entirely this year. One of Schmidt’s frankefurters (hot dog) was I think $ 6 or $ 7? A plate was $ 12. Way too much — we just toddled over to Schmidt’s the real restaurant afterward that weekend. About a 10 – 12 oz serving size of cabbage and noodles was $ 8 or $ 9.
Instead, we put our money to the beer. It was great!
Love the oompah bands and I agree with another poster — more oompah, less rock. But, you have to make it appealing to many different people. That said, there are two large main stages, so there really is something for everyone.
What impresses me the most is how the livestock halls of the Ohio State Fair are magically transformed into bier gartens! I mean, it’s really beautiful and fun filled with mums, pumpkin, bunting and ceiling fixtures. It takes you away from Columbus for an evening!

This festival is about as stinky as sauerkraut. I really was anticipating to have fun at this event, but found myself disappointed. The best way to classify this is flea market meets overpriced food and drink.
I paid eight dollars for parking and in order to purchase food I was going to need to buy tickets. They were listed at $ 1.25 each or ten for $ 12.00. When you figure up that for a beer and brat, you need about 12 tickets, you are spending right around $ 15. And they only had four beers to choose from. My visual inspection of the food people were carrying did not even seem that appetizing.
The majority of this event is confined to three out buildings, two of which are people selling flea market type items. Again none of the wares being sold stood out at me.
Finally, don’t know if it was because of alcohol consumption or what, but the people present on the Sunday I visited were downright rude. I am from Chicago, I root for the Bears, get over it. The number of people that had smart ass comments or the one woman who even came up and goes «I am so sorry your a fan» because I was sporting my Sunday Bears shirt really made my day. The urge to punch her in the face was subsided by the fact that she was already ugly enough.
After spending less then an hour exploring the grounds, I decided to leave. On my way home I stopped by the store and for the $ 15 they wanted for a single brat and beer I picked up a packaged of brats, buns, sauerkraut and six pack of lager of $ 12 and had my own private Oktoberfest.

I’ve been living in Columbus my entire life with my extremely German mother and I’ve never been to Columbus Oktoberfest. I’m the worst German ever!
This year, because Oktoberfest happened to be within stumbling home distance, the boys and I decided to check things out.
First off, yes — admission is free! And if you happen to live within walking distance, or decide to park on 4^th Street instead of paying for parking — the price tag of FREE is a real deal. Gives you more to spend on tickets for BEER (and food I guess, but mostly beer). And yes, tickets are expensive.
$ 1.25 a ticket or 10 tickets for $ 12. A 16 oz beer is 5 tickets — or $ 6 if you bought your tickets in multiples of 10. It’s pricey, but you also have the option of going for a glass 32 oz beer stein. I was 2 beers in before trying to do the math, but if I believe this is the better deal. Especially if you plan on staying and drinking all day long. Which I will next year!
I really appreciated the push to use local food vendors for Oktoberfest! There were like one or two vendors that were just your run-​of-​the-​mill fair concession stands, but I bought some perogies from Mozart’s! Maybe next year the powers behind Oktoberfest will reach out to more local food vendors (hello food trucks) and encourage them to come up with a German menu for the 3 day event!
My little German heart was broken over the lack of people in traditional costume, save for the slutty German Halloween costumes and older German ladies in traditional garb. And the music went back and forth from local talent to a few oompah bands. More oompah, less rock.
If this is the best Columbus can do for an Oktoberfest, well, they could do a lot worse. I did enjoy myself, though next year I’ll save up and bring more money. For BEER.

So, there are not too many festivals where I can just relax with my beloved, laugh, and run around like a giddy school child with BEER!
We decided to check out Oktoberfest on a Sunday afternoon, and I am SO glad we decided to choose this day from comments from the vendors exclaiming that Friday, and Saturday crowds were CRAZY!
Admission here is free, but you pay for parking, which was $ 8 per vehicle. The way they have their food vendors set up was slightly different, but fair like. You buy tickets for any food, beer, or dessert purchases, and ten tickets ran you about $ 12. Expensive… yes… very.
The food here was great. You have the almighty Schmidt’s in both of the dining halls serving up their American/​German specialties of bahama mama’s, wurst, and CREAM PUFFS, and you also have some smaller food vendors strewn about.
For instance, we grabbed a Limburgh Cheese sandwich, which smelled awful. It smelled like the smell of that water at the bottom of a garbage truck, but it wasn’t terrible. It had a texture, and flavor close to a Brie. But OH GOD, I got some of that on my finger, and I was dying until I found a bathroom sink, and soap.
Don’t really like the food? Well, they also catered to the crowd of unfoodies with traditional German and Bavarian dancing, and even brought in some brass bands to make you want to strap on your lederhosen, and start swinging someone around on your arm.
The things I did not like about Oktoberfest:
The ticket prices.
The fact they only offered four types of beer.
Oktoberfest seemed more like the «Schmidt’s and Heidelberg-​Fest» As these were the two vendors mostly seen around, and these were the two who had the most control of the festivities food and beer distribution.
Their craft section was not authentic, and was littered with people trying to sell people «Gutter Guards» (Or my husband called them the «Gooter Gah-​rds» in his bad German accent) and other things unrelated to the German people, or culture.
Other than that, This makes for a wonderful time, the facilities were clean, the Sunday crowd was non-​existent and the weather was gorgeous.
I have never seen my husband happier at a festival.

The Columbus Oktoberfest, once the child of the German Village Association, has grown significantly. They have found a perfect location in the historic fairgrounds with beerhalls, tents and a nearby kinderplatz.
Entrance is free, so in addition to the free playground with plenty for the little ones to do, this is a fantastic family adventure. Local musicians add to the authenticity of the event with toe tapping music: from tubas to Alphorns, from singers to accordians.
Hungry? No worries, from the Bahama Mamas at Schmidt’s or the Cream Puffs and Pretzels from Jeurgen’s Backery, authentic food is there to accompany your choices of beers.